Hemant Soren showing 'acute non-cooperation' in probe, says ED
PTC News Desk: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday stated that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is showing"acute non-cooperation" in the money laundering investigation against him and other individuals.
The central agency stated that Soren is "reluctant" to reveal information about the plots he is alleged to have acquired.
The 48-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader appeared in the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court of Judge Rajiv Ranjan, who extended his ED remand for three days.
Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31, following his resignation as Chief Minister.
The agency told the court that a WhatsApp chat between the politician and his alleged "close associate" Binod Singh revealed details of a banquet hall proposed to be built on an 8.5-acre land in Ranchi's Baragai area, which the ED claimed is an immovable asset "illegally acquired and possessed" by Soren.
"The accused person Hemant Soren has been showing acute non-cooperation and is reluctant to divulge true facts regarding the properties acquired by him and other persons connected to him," the ED stated in its request for a four-day remand.
According to the agency, the former Chief Minister was confronted with his WhatsApp chats with Binod Singh, which included an exchange of information about immovable properties.
"The accused person (Hemant Soren) has been refusing to even sign and acknowledge the WhatsApp chats in order to conceal the information about the properties," according to the report.
"Scrutiny of the WhatsApp chats between Binod Singh and Hemant Soren has led to the identification of a plan/map of a proposed banquet shared by Binod Singh to Hemant Soren on 06.04.2021....The location of the proposed banquet mentioned on the said plan matches with the said 8.5 acres of land illegally acquired and possessed by Hemant Soren."
According to the ED, Soren was "not cooperating" and was unwilling to reveal information about the properties associated with him, so they pleaded for his extended custody.
The agency stated that searches were conducted in the case on February 7 and that "new incriminating evidence has surfaced."
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